We who sign this letter are Cuban political prisoners of conscience, who want to send our sincere congratulations to the twentieth anniversary of your well deserved and historic release from prison.

On February 11, 1990, with your release, the world witnessed the beginning of a process of change from irrational social order to an inclusive and equal society made up of all South Africans, putting an end to the repugnant apartheid regime.

It was a difficult road, full of hard sacrifices that fortunately, thanks to your persevering and all-encompassing look to the future of South Africa: “with all and for the good of all” as the Cuban apostle José Martí said, culminated as a model for those that love freedom and equality for everyone and condemn segregation in all its manifestations.

We, and many other Cubans, as well as you and many of your countrymen, know the pain of prison, only for wanting to create our own identity, what we consider best for the common good, which is nothing but equal rights and responsibilities for all citizens.

Exactly one month and one week after the twentieth anniversary of your release from prison, we will honor the seventh year of our unjust imprisonment. We are citizens condemned to long sentences for civic and peaceful acts, such as the collection of signatures requesting a referendum, independent journalism and the defense of human rights. The ultra totalitarianism that has reigned in Cuba for more than half a century, is a system of segregation in terms of civil and political rights that, while not clearly defined in laws and public signs, can in practice only be used in order to support the government.

For peacefully dissenting from this unjust order, as what happened during apartheid in South Africa with you and the South African National Congress, we are constantly accused of defending the interests and ideologies of foreign powers, an argument used to mask political repression and justify long prison sentences.

Hon. Mr. Mandela, permit us in this letter to borrow one of your famous phrases, adapt it to our reality and use it as a call to all people of goodwill. “Do not appeal to our reason, but rather to your hearts.”

From behind the bars of intolerance we celebrate as our own the twentieth anniversary of your release, and we feel sure that you with your grand heart, you will celebrate as if it were your own, next March 18th, the suffering of our seventh year in prison.

Once again we wish you and all South Africans happiness in this worldwide celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the end of your captivity.

You can bet your bottom dollar that there are millions in Cuba who share the views of these men, but when they know that they will be sentenced to long years rotting in a prison cell for their beliefs, they feel the futility of it all. They do not know whether even their children and relatives might be reporting on them, so they remain silent.

Does any European leader voice support for them? No, not one. 33 men who simply exercised a “right”, that of free-speech and France, England, Spain, Germany, all remain silent.

And so, by making examples of these brave souls, Fidel silenced all of Cuba. And the rest of us, do we do anything to rouse world-wide condemnation of the Cuban government, do we make a noise, parade in the streets, like the commies and socialists do? No, we, by our silence, allow them to rot away. Collectively, we’re cowards. And, oddly enough, the code word I must enter to publish this missive, is below, “reaction95”.

Do we know what was the crime(s) involved for their internment or we are assuming they whispered the wrong word in the bus.

Prisoner of conscience could be a very tricky definition.
Ex: Those of us who don’t agree with “The Patriot Act” can qualified as prisoner of conscience simply by suggesting that the act of terrorism they did was motivated by “The Patriot act”
Or a pedophile could molest hundred of children to protest the lack of understanding of his “disease” and by doing so he is a political refugee.

One thing is certain they are not banned for exporting their “Side of the stories” to the rest of the world like Mendela was.